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Industry Leaders Announce Open Platform for Mobile Devices

06 November, 2007 11:46

<p>Group Pledges to Unleash Innovation for Mobile Users Worldwide</p><p>MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.; BONN, Germany; TAOYUAN, Taiwan; SAN DIEGO, Calif.; SCHAUMBERG, Ill., November 5, 2007 -- A broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies today joined forces to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders.</p><p>This alliance shares a common goal of fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms. By providing developers a new level of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, Android will accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers.</p><p>With nearly 3 billion users worldwide, the mobile phone has become the most personal and ubiquitous communications device. However, the lack of a collaborative effort has made it a challenge for developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers to respond as quickly as possible to the ever-changing needs of savvy mobile consumers. Through Android, developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers will be better positioned to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The end result will be an unprecedented mobile platform that will enable wireless operators and manufacturers to give their customers better, more personal and more flexible mobile experiences.</p><p>Thirty-four companies have formed the Open Handset Alliance, which aims to develop technologies that will significantly lower the cost of developing and distributing mobile devices and services. The Android platform is the first step in this direction -- a fully integrated mobile "software stack" that consists of an operating system, middleware, user-friendly interface and applications. Consumers should expect the first phones based on Android to be available in the second half of 2008.</p><p>The Android platform will be made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products. Next week the Alliance will release an early access software development kit to provide developers with the tools necessary to create innovative and compelling applications for the platform.</p><p>Android holds the promise of unprecedented benefits for consumers, developers and manufacturers of mobile services and devices. Handset manufacturers and wireless operators will be free to customize Android in order to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. Developers will have complete access to handset capabilities and tools that will enable them to build more compelling and user-friendly services, bringing the Internet developer model to the mobile space. And consumers worldwide will have access to less expensive mobile devices that feature more compelling services, rich Internet applications and easier-to-use interfaces -- ultimately creating a superior mobile experience.</p><p>Open Software, Open Device, Open Ecosystem "This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world. A fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will change the way people access and share information in the future," said Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. "Today's announcement is more ambitious than any single 'Google Phone' that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models."</p><p>"As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, T-Mobile is committed to innovation and fostering an open platform for wireless services to meet the rapidly evolving and emerging needs of wireless customers," said René Obermann, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Telekom, parent company of T-Mobile. "Google has been an established partner for T-Mobile's groundbreaking approach to bring the mobile open Internet to the mass market. We see the Android platform as an exciting opportunity to launch robust wireless Internet and Web 2.0 services for T-Mobile customers in the US and Europe in 2008."</p><p>"HTC's trademark on the mobile industry has been its ability to drive cutting-edge innovation into a wide variety of mobile devices to create the perfect match for individuals," said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corp. "Our participation in the Open Handset Alliance and integration of the Android platform in the second half of 2008 enables us to expand our device portfolio into a new category of connected mobile phones that will change the complexion of the mobile industry and re-create user expectations of the mobile phone experience."</p><p>"The convergence of the wireless and Internet industries is creating new partnerships, evolving business models and driving innovation," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm. "We are extremely pleased to be participating in the Open Handset Alliance, whose mission is to help build the leading open-source application platform for 3G networks. The proliferation of open-standards-based handsets will provide an exciting new opportunity to create compelling services and devices. As a result, we are committing research and development resources to enable the Android platform and to create the best always-connected consumer experience on our chipsets."</p><p>"Motorola has long been an advocate of open software for mobile platforms. Today, we're excited to continue this support by joining Google and others in the announcement of the Open Handset Alliance and Android platform. Motorola plans to leverage the Android platform to enable seamless, connected services and rich consumer experiences in future Motorola products," said Ed Zander, Chairman and CEO of Motorola, Inc.</p><p>Open Handset Alliance Founding Members</p><p>Aplix (www.aplixcorp.com ), Ascender Corporation (www.ascendercorp.com ), Audience (www.audience.com ), Broadcom (www.broadcom.com), China Mobile (www.chinamobile.com ), eBay (www.ebay.com ), Esmertec (www.esmertec.com ), Google (www.google.com ), HTC (www.htc.com ), Intel (www.intel.com ), KDDI (www.kddi.com ), Living Image (www.livingimage.jp ), LG (www.lge.com), Marvell (www.marvell.com ), Motorola (www.motorola.com ), NMS Communications (www.nmscommunications.com ), Noser (www.noser.com ), NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (www.nttdocomo.com ), Nuance (www.nuance.com ), Nvidia (www.nvidia.com ), PacketVideo (www.packetvideo.com ), Qualcomm (www.qualcomm.com), Samsung (www.samsung.com ), SiRF (www.sirf.com ), SkyPop (www.skypop.com ), SONiVOX (www.sonivoxrocks.com ), Sprint Nextel (www.sprint.com), Synaptics (www.synaptics.com ), TAT - The Astonishing Tribe (www.tat.se), Telecom Italia (www.telecomitalia.com), Telefónica (www.telefonica.com ), Texas Instruments (www.ti.com ), T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.com ), Wind River (www.windriver.com ) For more information about the Open Handset Alliance, visit the website at www.openhandsetalliance.com .</p><p>About GoogleGoogle's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com .</p><p>About T-MobileT-Mobile is one of the world's leading companies in mobile communications. As one of Deutsche Telekom's three strategic business units, T-Mobile concentrates on the most dynamic markets in Europe and the United States. Almost 112 million mobile customers were served by companies of the Deutsche Telekom group by June 30, 2007. The common technology platform is based on GSM, the world's most successful digital wireless standard. This also makes T-Mobile the only mobile communications provider with a seamless transatlantic service.</p><p>About HTCFounded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) designs, manufactures and markets innovative, feature rich smartphone and PDA Phone devices. Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&amp;D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations and launched state-of-the-art PDA phones and smartphones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US and Asia. These machines are available as HTC devices and as products individually customized for operator and device partners. HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit http://www.htc.com/ .</p><p>About QualcommQualcomm Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com ) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Qualcomm is included in the S&amp;P 500 Index and is a 2007 FORTUNE 500® company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market® under the ticker symbol QCOM.</p><p>About MotorolaMotorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless and broadband communications. Inspired by our vision of seamless mobility, the people of Motorola are committed to helping you connect simply and seamlessly to the people, information and entertainment that you want and need. We do this by designing and delivering "must have" products, "must do" experiences and powerful networks -- along with a full complement of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $42.8 billion in 2006. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com .###</p><p>All company and product names may be trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.</p><p>MEDIA CONTACTS</p><p>HTC: Maggie Cheung, maggie_cheng@htc.com, +886-3-3753252 ext. 6192</p><p>Google: Erin Fors, efors@google.com, +415-939-0582</p><p>Deutsche Telekom: Michael Lange, Michael.Lange@t-mobile.net, +49 (0)228 936 15500</p><p>Qualcomm: Kira Golin, kiral@qualcomm.com, +858-204-8156</p><p>Motorola: Paul Alfieri, paul.alfieri@motorola.com, +847 660-9176</p><p>ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING QUOTES</p><p>"The launch of Open Handset Alliance marks the initiation of a very exciting period for the wireless industry in many different ways. Aplix is excited to be a member of the Open Handset Alliance and we are committed to contribute our extensive mobile &amp; embedded experience in helping device manufacturers &amp; carriers ship products based on the Android platform."-- Ryu Koriyama, CEO Aplix Corporation</p><p>"Ascender is proud to be providing the font solution to the Android platform built by the Open Handset Alliance. We believe that handset manufacturers and application developers will be very happy with the fonts provided and we look forward to addressing the future font needs across the platform. We are also very excited that the platform supports our Ascender Compact Asian Font solution (ACAF), which will make it easy for manufacturers to implement additional high-quality Asian fonts in a small footprint."-- Ira Mirochnick, President of Ascender Corporation</p><p>"We are pleased to be a part of the Open Handset Alliance as it embarks on revolutionizing the world of mobile communications. As open devices enter the market in 2008, Audience is defining the new standard for noise suppression, enabling more usability of rich voice and data applications on this platform. Callers will be able to be heard everywhere from their mobile handset, even in the noisiest places."-- Peter Santos, CEO of Audience</p><p>"Broadcom is at the forefront of integrating advanced multimedia functionality, applications processing and communications technologies into highly integrated processors for next-generation mobile devices, sharing the Open Handset Alliance's vision of enabling platforms that provide maximum flexibility to developers of useful and exciting mobile applications. We are excited to participate in the Alliance, working with other industry leaders to further explore the possibilities that increasingly powerful mobile devices provide and reaffirming Broadcom's support of open operating systems for the mobile handset."-- Dr. Edward Frank, Vice President of R&amp;D at Broadcom</p><p>"China Mobile believes that an open and advanced mobile handset platform is the key to deliver the best mobile application and Internet experience and it will encourage faster adoption of smartphones in China. China Mobile is excited to participate in the Open Handset Alliance and to work with Google and other Alliance partners on a next-generation mobile handset platform."-- Bill Huang, General Manager of China Mobile Research Institute</p><p>"eBay supports the Open Handset Alliance's efforts to deliver more compelling applications and content to mobile Internet users. As the future unfolds, more and more people will be accessing the Internet using their mobile devices. We see this initiative as an opportunity to get more people to experience the power of the eBay marketplace regardless of where they are or what device they are using."-- Andre Haddad, SVP Products, eBay Inc.</p><p>"We are delighted to be a member of the Open Handset Alliance, which opens new horizons in the mobile space. Beyond our OMA applications contribution to this alliance, we strive to address the challenges and needs of all players in the current and future mobile value chain with a full range of integration and development services. Thanks to the availability of our Jbed™ Java™ VM on the Android platform, we offer immediate compatibility to the standard Java ME world to enable Java ME-based mobile services with the Android platform."-- Jean-Claude Martinez, CEO of Esmertec</p><p>"Intel joined the Open Handset Alliance to create opportunities to innovate in the mobile market segment. The Android platform can enhance Intel's new low-power products that will enable an emerging class of mobile Internet devices that bring to life the full Internet experience on products that are small enough to fit in your pocket, and meet the uncompromising performance needs of users on the go."-- Gary Willihnganz, Director of Marketing, Intel Ultra Mobile Group</p><p>"KDDI believes the alliance is exactly the first great step toward increased openness in the mobile industry and we hope the platform will bring completely new experiences to the mobile users around the world."-- Tadashi Onodera, President and Chairman of KDDI Corporation</p><p>"We are very excited about participating in the Open Handset Alliance, since it will open up an ultimate horizon for future handset devices. LivingImage envisions a world where people will 'Play Images' by *editless technology. Very simple in watching, click the LI logo to experience future visual literacy."-- Yu Maruno, Chief Creative Director, LivingImage</p><p>"As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, we are furthering our commitment to deliver the best possible mobile experience to our customers. The Alliance's plan to deliver the most innovative and open platform ever created will be an enormous contribution to the mobile industry and to mobile phone users everywhere. At LG we are looking forward to building handsets based on this open platform, with new and exciting features that will benefit our customers."-- Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communication Company</p><p>"Marvell is thrilled to be a member of the Open Handset Alliance. This alliance will enable a revolutionary open mobile platform that will leverage the high-performance microprocessors, low-power wireless technologies and open architecture of the Marvell silicon product portfolio."-- Dr. Sehat Sutardja, President and CEO of Marvell</p><p>"Noser Engineering Inc. is a Swiss software engineering company that specializes in both embedded and mobile solutions. Working in close collaboration with the Open Handset Alliance, Noser contributed core functionality to the Android platform. This platform will revolutionize the mobile industry, and it will be an ideal 'open' development platform for the delivery of solutions to various industries. Noser's experience with the Android platform allows us to better support operators, handset manufacturers and ISVs who plan to ship devices and services based on this platform."-- Geri Moll, CEO Noser Engineering Inc.</p><p>"NMS Communications is pleased to add our industry-leading IMS framework to the Open Handset Alliance initiative. I believe this Alliance will unlock unprecedented innovation in mobile operating systems benefiting operators, consumers and suppliers alike."-- Joel Hughes, General Manager, Mobile Applications, NMS Communications</p><p>"DoCoMo strongly believes that rich mobile Internet services have been changing users' daily lives dramatically. We believe the Open Handset Alliance's vision of driving true openness will contribute significantly to this trend, supported by DoCoMo and other partners in the Alliance."-- Takeshi Natsuno, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Multimedia Services Department of NTT DoCoMo</p><p>"Nuance joined the Open Handset Alliance with other industry leaders to grow the entire mobile ecosystem. We're committed to apply our strength and leadership in voice-based search and messaging to move the market forward. By packaging and optimizing embedded speech technology components for open-source distribution, we've given developers the opportunity to access speech solutions through open APIs using the Android platform and to easily upgrade to new, more advanced speech features as well. We believe deep collaboration with members of the Alliance will grow our core mobile business and fuel the proliferation of speech-enabled applications worldwide."-- Steve Chambers, President, Mobile and Consumer Services Division of Nuance Communications</p><p>"As the mobile phone becomes our most personal computer, the user experience has never been more important. NVIDIA will be working within the Open Handset Alliance to enable rich media acceleration on a new generation of devices based on the Android platform."-- Michael Rayfield, general manager of NVIDIA's mobile business</p><p>"Driving innovation in mobile entertainment is what PV has been doing since we started in 1998. We chose to be the multimedia partner for the Open Handset Alliance because its mission of accelerating mobile entertainment aligns with ours. The creation of the Alliance is a major step in the global evolution of mobile entertainment."-- James C. Brailean, Ph.D., CEO of PacketVideo (PV)</p><p>"Today's mobile industry is becoming more and more a customer-centric environment. Samsung's joining with the Open Handset Alliance is fundamentally in line with this trend. We expect to lead the mobile industry by introducing more customer-oriented mobile phones through this alliance."-- Dale Sohn, President of Samsung Telecommunications America</p><p>"As a leading provider of GPS-enabled location technology for the mainstream mobile markets, SiRF is extremely pleased to be a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance. With the emergence of geo search and navigation as key enablers, an open platform like Android can significantly accelerate the development and deployment of location-aware applications, content and services. We believe our development efforts in conjunction with the innovative Android platform and our continued investment in leading-edge technology and location ecosystem will further our vision of bringing the benefits of location technology to billions of users worldwide."-- Kanwar Chadha, Founder and Vice President of Marketing, SiRF Technology</p><p>"We are excited to be part of the Open Handset Alliance and the next generation of mobile devices that it will empower. Android is the first platform that enables SkyPop to fully deliver on our vision of consumer services for the future of mobile devices."-- Bruce Leak, CEO and Co-Founder of SkyPop</p><p>"The Open Handset Alliance is music to mobile industry ears. Finally, developers like SONiVOX have a common stage upon which to not only create, but commercialize new, innovative ideas."-- Jennifer Hruska, President of SONiVOX</p><p>"Sprint continues to be a catalyst for transforming the mobile environment into one that is more open and customer-driven. Our participation in the Open Handset Alliance is a clear indication of Sprint's commitment to breaking down barriers and enabling developers to create and deliver applications that customers want. This new mobile ecosystem model will drive innovation, personalize the mobile experience and ultimately increase wireless data usage."-- Keith Cowan, President of Strategic Planning and Corporate Initiatives, Sprint Nextel</p><p>"Synaptics is proud to be a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance. Our contribution to the Android platform will help bring dynamic touch UIs to everyone in the mobile market. By creating an open environment conducive to collaboration and partnering, the Alliance will allow key influencers to deliver innovative devices and services to meet the needs of the fast-changing mobile industry."-- Francis Lee, President and CEO of Synaptics</p><p>"TAT is pleased to join the Open Handset Alliance as it pushes the boundaries on how mobile phones will be used. TAT will be contributing to this initiative with our extensive experience and proven track record in the mobile user interface arena -- enabling UI creation to be an integral part in the handset design process."-- Charlotta Falvin, CEO of TAT - The Astonishing Tribe</p><p>"Telecom Italia is already focused on the mobile Internet framework and services and strongly believes that it will be the key successful approach for future revenues. In this scenario the Open Handset Alliance represents an important initiative for Telecom Italia and for all its members to work together and to speed up the development process of a new open OS for mobile Internet services."-- Riccardo Jelmini, Executive Vice President, VAS Domestic Mobile Services of Telecom Italia</p><p>"Telefónica strives to bring the best of the web to our customers, wherever they are. We are pleased to be a part of the Open Handset Alliance, which we believe will enable new and innovative services to be launched on a robust and open platform. We look forward to delivering customized phones based on this platform for our customers."-- Adrían García Nevado, Corporate Commercial Director of Telefónica S.A.</p><p>"The move toward open source offerings is an important trend in the mobile industry, adding flexibility and driving adoption of mobile software solutions. TI is pleased to work with Google and other Open Handset Alliance members to broaden the mobile ecosystem and help expand the open-source community. TI applications processors along with our wireless LAN and Bluetooth connectivity solutions are key enablers in the Android platform. With TI technology as the foundation, the Android platform will open the doors for innovation and accelerate the creation of exciting new wireless services and products."-- Raj Talluri, General Manager, Wireless Terminals Business Unit, Texas Instruments</p><p>"Wind River is investing in the Open Handset Alliance to help deliver on its massive promise: faster time-to-market and dramatically lower bill-of-material costs for Linux-based phones. As a Linux commercialization partner for the Alliance, we've made significant contributions to ensure an optimized Linux distribution that delivers the highest level of silicon performance, and to provide the Linux services necessary for OEMs to quickly create Android-based handsets."-- Ken Klein, CEO of Wind River</p><p>###</p>

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